Teenager Dies After Attack by Ants in School

Cameron Espinosa a 13-year old student in Corpus Christi, Texas was warming up to enter football game when he was attacked by fire ants as the second half was about to begin.

The eighth grade student was huddling with fellow teammates on the field at Paul Haas Middle School, when he started screaming, “Ants! Ants!”

Espinosa collapsed shortly thereafter and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he remained for four days before dying from what doctors believe was an allergic reaction to the hundreds of bites he suffered from the fire ants.

A school spokesperson said that Espinoza had tried to remove ants from his body with a water bottle, but the multiple bites took their toll and he lost consciousness.

After he was taken to a nearby hospital the football game resumed, but was stopped shortly thereafter when it became apparent how severe the teenager’s condition was.

Officials at the school said the boy was unaware he was allergic to ant bites and the school said there was no record of him having any allergies.

Nevertheless, his mother has questioned why the school did not have lifesaving personnel on hand who could have possibly saved her son’s life.

Medics are present at varsity football games at the high schools throughout the state of Texas. However, that does not apply to games at the middle school level.

Nevertheless, coaches of teams are trained in CPR use and first aid. At the field, a defibrillator had been used prior to the player being taken by ambulance to the hospital.

School officials would not comment on the lacked of more trained personnel at the middle school level games. Espinoza’s mother Josephine Limon feels her son could be alive today if that had been the case.